Forget Me Not
by Fire Sage
Summary: An accident on a mission causes Barnaby to lose the past six years of his memories. He's confused and afraid and apparently married to Kotetsu.
1. Forget Me Not

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Tiger & Bunny. This is merely for fun._**

**_A/N: Since response was relatively positive I'm starting a new story to take up some free time now that other stories will be wrapping up :3. This is my first full length Tiger & Bunny story so I'm really excited for the new adventure. Enjoy! _**

* * *

_"Kotestu, are you sure?"_

_"Of course I'm sure! What kind of question is that?!"_

_Barnaby can tell that he's upset Kotetsu with that response. It's not what he was probably expecting, being practically insulted like that._

_"I don't know…sometimes you just think before you speak. Or don't think things through…."_

_He feels a little hypocritical saying that with what he just said and yet, somehow, like always, Kotetsu seems to understand and his face softens before he takes the blonde in his arms. It's warm and comforting and the closest feeling he's ever had to feeling at home since he was a child._

_"Bunny, do you really think I'd do something like this without thinking it through?"_

_He can almost hear the amusement in Kotetsu's voice, like already this will be a story they'll laugh about later over beers or something._

_"….No…"_

_"I'm still waiting for an answer by the way."_

_Barnaby smiles into the other man's shoulder and wraps his arms around his back. Like he'd really have to think about it._

_"Yes."_

The second Barnaby opens his eyes he knows he's in a hospital. He doesn't have his glasses on, but even through the garish blur he can tell it's a hospital. Nothing else is that white, or smells that clean. The shrill beeping of the contraptions he's obviously hooked up to are a dead giveaway too. God how he hates them, always has, but right now they make his head throb in rhyme with their beeping and his heartbeat.

God he hates hospitals too. Why is he here?

The blonde's head lulls to the side heavily and he makes out a brown and green blob hovering in what he assumes is a chair in the corner.

"Kotetsu…"

"Ah! Bunny! You're awake!" The blob rushes forward and drapes its weight across him over the bed in a desperate hug. "Thank goodness you're ok! I was so worried!"

"Gah! What are you doing old man?! Get off me!"

Kotetsu stops instantly and pulls away from Barnaby slowly. "Bunny…." He says quietly and Barnaby tsks through his teeth.

"Tsk! _Bunny_…I've told you a thousand times, my name is Barnaby. Stop calling me Bunny!"

At this distance Barnaby can see Kotetsu's face and expects a look of hurt on the old man's face when he says that, he always does. But the look on Kotetsu's face is more wounded than hurt, like he's stabbed the man in the chest. What was that about?

"Look, can you just get me my doctor so I can get out of here please? I wanna go home." Barnaby says while gently pushes Kotetsu away in an effort to swoosh him.

There is a definite pause, a hesitation in the older man before he does what he's told and leaves to find Barnaby's doctor.

_'That was strange.'_ The rookie hero thinks, assuming that getting Kotetsu off and away from him wouldn't have been that easy. It normally never was. _'Maybe he feels guilty over me being here? Why am I here anyway? Something must have happened on a job, but I can't remember anything? Maybe that's it.'_

As he rationalizes his thoughts Barnaby pats around the end table for his glasses. He finds them easily enough and puts them on with a small furrow. _'These aren't my glasses. These are round. Where are **my** glasses? Did they get broken and these are replacements?'_

"Ah, Mr. Brooks, I see that you've returned to us. I'm Dr. Gramm. How are you feeling?"

Despite the nagging feeling about his glasses and trip to the hospital, Barnaby is quick to bring his attention to the doctor who saunters in.

"Fine. My head hurts though."

"Hmm…yes, I would suspect so with the fall you took." She tells him, using a small light to inspect his pupils carefully. So he had been in an accident at work.

"Can I go home now?" Barnaby asks suddenly once she's done and the young doctor chuckles a little.

"Ah yes, your partner warned us about your aversion to hospitals." She says, looking back over her shoulder at Kotetsu who has returned with her into the room. "Let's just do some quick neurological test to see if you have any issues with that headache and we'll go from there ok?" She tells him while making a few more notes before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Ok,"

"What's your name?"

"Barnaby Brooks Jr."

_'This is stupid.'_ He thinks as he begrudgingly, finding these test trivial at best.

"Good. When and where were you born?"

"Sternbild City, October 31st 1953."

_'I just want to go home and sleep.'_ He whines internally as he spouts more answers.

"Good. What's today's date?"

"Thursday November 12th 1978."

Barnaby can tell instantly by the look on their faces that he got that one wrong. _'What? Have I been out for more than a day?'_ "What old man?" He asks not liking the pale flush that Kotetsu's face just took.

"Mr. Brooks, its March 18th 1984. This is your husband Kotetsu Kaburagi." Dr. Gramm says gently, seeming to mistakenly take the nickname for a complete lack of recognition. "You seem to be suffering from retrograde amnesia caused your fall. We'll need some times to run some tests, get our barring on how serious this is, and…M-Mr. Brooks? Mr. Brooks! I need a cart in here!"

"Bunny!"

If Barnaby had been himself he would have told Kotetsu not to shout in hospitals, that it wasn't that serious, and that he merely just fainted.

* * *

_I know the first chapter is short but hopefully it's a good start._

_Reviews are, as always, welcome and appreciated! Also lots of feedback now and in future chapters. I want to make sure I do the series justice while I'm writing this fic!_


	2. Welcome Home

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Tiger & Bunny or it character._**

* * *

The next few days are a whirlwind for Barnaby as he's confined to his hospital room for observation.

Words like amnesia, staggered progress, and therapy are all throw out around him but he can't pay much attention.

He was so confused!

Six years of his life just _gone_! And he can't remember how he's gotten here, married to _Kotetsu,_ in a hospital bed, or anything in between.

When he wakes up from his first black out he's allowed to go to the restroom to splash cold water on his face. He wishes he hadn't. It's like he went to sleep last night and woken up completely different. Ok, maybe not completely, but enough. It's not really noticeable but the six years of changes are drastic to him. Faint worry lines in his brow and around his eyes most likely from his work. His coloring is different, like he's gotten more sun but still not enough. His hair is also shorter, to his ears and not his shoulders.

And no matter how much water he splashes on his face or how hard he scrubs the mirror doesn't change.

Some bits and pieces of his lost memory come back to him immediately, which he's thankful for. Others…not so much.

When the crystal clear memory of what happened to his parents comes rushing back to him again, untampered now that Maverick is gone, he throws up in a trash can. The betrayal and emotions he first felt when he learned of Maverick's deception in his office come rushing back to him all over again. But, he recovers from it much faster this time. Or…at least he thinks he does. He can't really remember.

There is a soft knock on his open door that gets his attention and he turns over to see who it is.

"Hey," Kotetsu greets awkwardly, still unused to how to treat Barnaby. But it's not really his fault. The blonde is as skittish as…well, a bunny when the man is near him. And Kotetsu isn't much better. "I, uh, brought you some clothes to change into for the drive home."

"Thanks," Barnaby mutters as he takes the clothes when they are offered to him but says nothing more. Sweats are what he gives him. Barnaby doesn't remember ever owning sweats til now.

"I'm uh…gonna go talk to the doctor and see if there's anything else before I sign you out so we can get out of here." Kotetsu says, looking uncomfortable, as if the thick cloud of awkwardness between them is literally suffocating.

"I can sign myself out." Barnaby insists with a frown, not very happy at being treated like a child.

"No, actually, you can't. With your…condition you're not legally responsible for yourself when it comes to documents. Not until your memory is back."

"So why do you-" Barnaby halts half way through his rant, suddenly remembering why Kotetsu could and would have to do it for him. "Oh yeah, I forgot…."

The older man smiles sheepishly and places his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "It's ok. We'll work on it." He assures.

There is an awkward move when he leans forward, and Barnaby realizes after a second that it might have been to kiss him, but Kotetsu seems to realize what he's doing before Barnaby does and abandons the gesture halfway through to give him an awkward pat on the shoulder before disappearing to find Dr. Gramm.

* * *

Barnaby is more than happy to leave the hospital when he's given the green light to go

He is not, however, particularly fond of being wheeled out like an indolent but the staff insists that those are the rules. They give him enthusiastic goodbyes and well wishes to Sternbild's still favorite hero and he, ever the stunning hero in the lime light, returns it with a bright smile and jokes of 'I hope to not see you again for a long time'; though he secretly wishes that last part was true.

"Where are you going?" Barnaby asks when he's seated in the front of Kotetsu's car, now out of public attention and moody as ever. He thinks he should ask where Kotetsu's van is. But, instead of having another awkward trip down a forgotten memory lane, he just assumes he sold it over the past six years and accepts the navy blue sedan as it is.

"Home remember?"

Despite driving Kotetsu gives him his undivided attention when speaking. Barnaby wonders if it's because he's had to come and leave from here often or because he's just being unsafe.

"My apartment is that way though." Barnaby points behind him as he speaks but he knows by Kotetsu's heavy sigh that he's wrong, again.

"We moved a couple years ago into a place on the east side."

"How did you sucker me into that?" Barnaby asks with a furrowed brow, wondering how he got tricked into moving to Sternblind's 'suburbs' with all the perfect little families and elderly citizens with white picket fences.

"I didn't sucker you into anything! It was actually your idea!" Kotetsu shouts with his normal explosive outrage. Barnaby thinks it's weird that he finds that…comforting. "We needed more room and you said you never really liked your apartment in the first place."

Barnaby hums at the explanation and flops into the corner of his seat. "That doesn't sound like me at all."

A small huff of a laugh echoes through the front seat. "No, I guess it doesn't."

* * *

It's a thirty minute car ride 'home' from the hospital. Barnaby doesn't really pay attention though, too focused on the outside of the car and nit-picky on the scenery as it flies by. Had that shop always been there? Was that a new billboard sign? Had that building always been blue? Over and over again Barnaby racks his brain to make since out of this new yet familiar world he's been thrust into, second guessing every memory or hazy flashback, hoping and waiting to either wake up or for it all to click at once so it could be over.

The car coming to a halt breaks Barnaby from his merry-go-round of torture.

"This is it?"

"This is it." Kotetsu confirms with an apprehensive smile as he steps out of the car.

Barnaby gets out of the car much more softly, looking at the house he's supposed to live in for the first time.

It's a medium size two story townhouse. White, like most of the neighboring townhomes, with a small front yard and wooden fence jutting out from its sides to suggest there is a larger yard in the back. There's a small porch lined with shrubs that has a bench and porch swing on it.

It's a nice house. The kind of house American families dreams are built on. Barnaby tries to picture himself on the bench or on the swing with a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning or something. He frowns a little when he can't.

"Hey, you need a minute?"

The blonde doesn't want to admit that he jumps a little when Kotetsu's voice is suddenly right next to him. "No, I'm fine." He insists and heads for the front door as if to prove the point; either to himself or Kotetsu he's not sure.

The older man either doesn't notice or doesn't pressure him as he follow and opens the door. He opens the door wide and gestures his arms in towards the house to let him in with a, "Welcome home Barnaby."

He gets that it's supposed to make him smile or feel happy, but the sentiment doesn't do either. It actually makes him feel more awkward and worse. But he chooses to keep that to himself.

Stepping over the threshold Barnaby stops just shy of the door and looks around this narrow focus of perspective to get his bearings.

The hallway from the entrance way to the living room is like a mosaic mural to the life they've had. He sees pictures of when he first started out as a hero and the group cluttered together with newer pictures of the same thing. Photos of Kotetsu and Barnaby at events and publicity stunts. Pictures of a young girl growing up Barnaby recognizes is Kaede. His one photo of him and his parents nestled next to a picture of a pretty young woman holding a baby next to a much younger Kotetsu.

If he were himself he would have made a comment on how metaphoric this wall was to his current situation, an orderly cluttered jargon of past and present shifting into one. But he doesn't.

"You ok? You want some water or something?" Kotetsu asks carefully beside him, his trademark look of worry etched on his face.

"I think I'd like the 'or something,' but it really wouldn't help anything." He says, putting back a small framed picture of him and Kotetsu back on the foyer table next to a bowl meant for keys. They're wearing suits and smiling. He wonders if that's their wedding picture. "You're not wearing your call bracelet anymore."

Kotetsu looks startled for a minute and looks down at his bare wrist as if something _was_ there before smiling. "Ah…yeah. I'm officially a retiree now. Completely permanent."

"Your powers…there gone?"

"So you remember that then, good." Even as he says this Barnaby can see the strain in his smile when _he_ has to remember. "Yeah, they completely kicked a few years ago. Apollon did some story about how I broke my leg and couldn't do hero work anymore, or something….I argued with them for hours about lying to the people but they didn't want there to be an uproar in the NEXT community about people losing their powers. Plus, they…didn't want my good name tarnished by saying I had become useless or something."

"They didn't want to tarnish the name 'Crusher for Justice'?" He jokes with a smirk, smiling a little more when Kotetsu becomes dramatically flustered.

"Hey! I'll have you know no one had used that name in a _long_ time. I got pretty good at dodging building rather than running into them near the end!" Kotetsu waves his hand frantically as he goes further into the house and Barnaby follows.

He's glad that Kotetsu can tell it's a joke. That, for a moment, they can laugh and the awkwardness is gone if only for a second.

"So…what do you do now?" Barnaby asks as he sits himself down on the black leather couch after the few short steps to the living room. It's very nice, decorated in neutrals and creams. It's obvious, having seen Kotetsu's old place, that it was a collaboration between them. He thinks he should be happy about that, but all he can do is frown.

Kotetsu sits down on the couch as well but on the opposite end to give him space. "Well, believe it or not, I teach at Hero Academy now."

"_You_ teach at the _academy_?! Someone thought it would be a good idea to leave the minds of young, impressionable NEXTs in your hands?"

"Yes! And if you keep acting like that to everything I tell you I'm not going to tell you anything and let you figure it out yourself!" The older man warns, complete with accusing finger and faint glare. "Actually, you were the one that talked me into it. I didn't think I would be very good at it when the board offered me the position. A veteran hero past his prime and without his power teaching the future savior of the city? Give me a break. But you said….you said that it would be a good idea. That the academy didn't teach much about what it was like to be a _real_ hero and my 'hands on' experience would be beneficial to the next hero generation."

"Well, I guess you did teach me."

Barnaby looks over at Kotetsu with a soft, warm smile that he returns and, for a moment, the brick wall of distance and awkwardness between them is gone.

He realizes he owes a lot to Kotetsu; he's helped him so much even in only the past he can remember. Knowing the older man probably more in the current he can't. He realizes that he has also never thanked Kotetsu for being so patient with him and teaching him that there was more to being a hero than powers and points. But…maybe he thought there would be time later. Maybe until now he had never thought of it at all.

The moment of peaceful tranquility is broken, however, when the front door opens.

"Dad, we're home." The voice of a young woman calls from the other end of the house.

The pair snap straight, like they've been caught doing something, but for very different reasons.

For Barnaby it's the realization that Kaede no longer lives in Oriental Town with her grandmother but here, with them! His mind spins for a second thinking that that means she knows that they were….that he and Kotetsu…and she was ok with that?! Then again he had amassed from their few meetings in the past that she was a clever, mature girl. She had to be, what, sixteen now? So it probably wasn't that big of a deal now considering that had been together for-he doesn't want to think about that right now!

For Kotetsu, he seems more terrified than a father should be about his daughter coming home. In the back of his mind Barnaby realizes this is odd since almost all the memories of Kotetsu's dealings with her were positive and love-gushing.

"Oh no!" Kotetsu growns, bolting up to apparently stop whatever was coming. But what was coming was far too sneaky and fast to be stopped by the former superhero as it bounced across the room in an orange blur and into Barnaby's lap.

"Daddy! Papa! I missed you!"

* * *

_Wow! I was surprise that this story got such a high response rate with how short the first chapter was (and how crappy my summary is lol). I'm glad everyone is liking it so far! Special thanks to deemama66, Ksblover88, MichelleBlack, and AsuraChan (extra special thanks to AsuraChan for reading and reviewing all my T&B stories in like 1 day :3). _

_Hoping to have a new chapter up next week sometime. Have to work in time to finishes the newest chapter of CWEA amongst work and that pesky thing called a life._

_ Reviews are the motivation for my success! All thoughts and feedback are welcomed and loved!_


	3. It takes a village

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Tiger & Bunny. This is merely for fun._**

* * *

"Daddy! Papa! I missed you!"

If the wind hadn't been knocked out of him when the little girl pounced onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight squeeze, her announcement would have.

"Lizzy let go. Let go of Barnaby honey." Kotetsu insists while trying to gently pry her off of the blonde's body.

But she just shouts a definitive, "No!" And holds on to him tightly, obvious to the fact that the blonde has started hyperventilating and is as stiff as a board in her arms.

"Dad, what's going on…"

Barnaby's vision regains focus for a second to see a young woman striding hesitantly into the living room. She's tall and lean and very pretty with coca colored hair and wide eyes he knows he recognizes. She's Kaede. She's sixteen year old Kaede, all grown up from the young girl that used to idolize him to a young woman.

His hyperventilation starts pounding harder in his chest.

_'I'm in a room full of strangers. And this girl thinks I'm her daddy….I can't breathe.'_

"Kaede, help! We'll talk in a minute. Lizzy let go!"

"No! I wanna stay with Papa! He's been gone for a long time!" The gingery child insists as she continues to cling to Barnaby's neck despite Kotetsu pulling her away from her middle.

"Lizzy stop! Papa's still sick. He needs his rest."

"Sick?" Lizzy's tiny hands unlock with a metaphoric 'pop' at Kotetsu's words and he stumbles against the lack of resistance. It's a miracle that he stayed on his feet. "If Papa's sick where's his slippers and soup?" She asks with big, curious green eyes.

"Oh…right…right! K-Kaede can you take Lizzy and go get Barnaby's slippers. I'll go make him some soup." Kotetsu stammers, sitting the small girl down and urging her towards the older girl who looks at him suspiciously.

"Ok…come on Lizzy…." The brunette drawls and leads the little girl up the stairs judging by the sound of heavy feet.

"Who…is that?"

Kotetsu whips back around to look at Barnaby, who looks nothing short of seeing a ghost, as his panting clears for a moment to ask who Lizzy is.

"Her name is Elizabeth. She's…our kid."

"Our _kid!_"

The older man shushes Barnaby's shouting quickly and listens for the sound of any disturbance in the house. He then waves for Barnaby to follow him and the blonde mindlessly follows as they relocate into the kitchen.

Barnaby sits down slowly on one of the kitchen island stools as Kotetsu busies himself with a tea pot on the stove, seeming to be looking for both a distraction and need to be useful.

"Well…second kid. You legally adopted Kaede around the same time."

"She's adopted?"

"Well we wanted to have one _naturally_ but figured that would just be murder on your girlish hips." The blonde's face jerks up from his inspection of the island tile grout to glare at Kotetsu who sighs and turns around completely. "Sorry. Yes she's adopted. She was at that orphanage you were at as a kid."

Barnaby knows his surprise is apparent on his face and Kotetsu smiles in an almost melancholy, nostalgic sort of way.

"We did an event there little over a year ago. Even though I was retired, they still like to shake the dust off me now and then for photo opts and charity events. I really don't mind." Barnaby can hear the slight smile in his voice and thinks, _'no Kotetsu wouldn't mind'_. He always liked to do events and charity events for the public for as long as he could remember, but not for the reasons that most heroes did. Kotetsu just liked to do them to let the people know that he was there and he was grateful that they were grateful for him. "Anyway, when we were there, all the kids were surrounding around us looking for autographs and to be picked up, but not her. She was off in a corner alone. When things calmed down you went to go talk to her. I don't know what happened but when you came back you seemed…different. Long story short we took her home about a month later."

"Just like that?"

"Well, I always wanted more kids but…." Kotetsu looks down at the counter and Barnaby follows suit.

He remembers his partner telling him about his late wife Tomoe and how she had been sick for a while before she eventually past. The option of more children may not have been allotted to them after Kaede and, given his current relationship, well….

The blonde's cheeks flush as he is reminded again that they are together. That they have been together for a while so….he doesn't want to think about this right now!

"Here,"

Barnaby looks up from the tile grout again to see Kotetsu offering him a steaming blue mug of what he assumes is tea. He takes a sip and smiles a little around the rim as the warm liquid flows through his body and temporarily relieves his stress.

"This is good."

"It's your favorite." Kotetsu says with a smile. And Barnaby can't decide to smile or to cry. Kotetsu remembers his favorite. But he apparently can't.

"Hey, I hid Barnaby's slippers in the shower so that will keep Lizzy busy for a few hours. What's going on?"

Kotetsu walks over to his daughter and ushers her back out. Even though they are in another room Barnaby can still hear them speak through the walls and swinging door. Probably more so because he was listening and not because the walks were thin.

"Barnaby got into an accident at work and he has slight amnesia."

"How slight?"

"Six years off slight."

There's a whistle and a mumbled 'yeah I know'. "So that's why we're going to Uncle's for a while?"

"Yeah, just for a bit until things settle down. Shouldn't you be on a train right now anyway?"

"I forgot my charger. How long will that be?"

"The doctors aren't sure."

"Sooo a few days, a week, what?"

"Look I don't know Kaede!"

Barnaby flinches as he's sure Kaede does. He's never heard Kotetsu raise his voice to his daughter, even when _she_ was yelling at him.

"Whoa, easy. Chill out."

"I'm sorry honey. It's just been a really rough couple of days."

"I can imagine. Just…keep me posted I guess."

There's a slight pause before the sound of a young girl thumping down the stairs echoes through the house.

"I found Papa's slippers! They were in the bathroom!"

Barnaby smiles a little thinking of how proud Elizabeth must look on the other side of the door, but the it's crushed by a wave of nausea as he remembers she's his daughter and he can't remember her or what her proud expression looks like.

"Great job Elizabeth-chan! Now why don't you and onee-san head back down to the train station so you can visit with grandma and uncle Masa*?"

Barnaby can picture the big grin Kotetsu has for her. Patting her head in congratulation over her small victory and putting on a big show so she thinks nothing is wrong.

"But I wanna give Papa his slippers and soup!"

"You can't Lizzy. Papa's contagious; it means you'll catch his germs if you get near him. Dad got a special shot from the doctor." Kaeade pipes in reasonably, a little too quick with that lie on her tongue Barnaby thinks.

"Ew! Germs!"

"Ew! Germs! Right!" Kotetsu mimics and there's a sound of shoes dropping before a rustle of fabric can be heard.

"I love you Daddy! And give these to Papa for me!"

Barnaby can't tell what's going on but, judging by what he knows about kids and how choked up Kotetsu sounds when he says, "Ok Lizzy, I will." He guesses she probably gave him a hug.

"Bye Papa! Get better please!" Lizzy shouts loudly, to make sure he heard her, before the sound of her small feet running for the door drowns it out.

"See ya Dad. Give me a call."

There is the sound of Kaede's much more subdued footsteps, followed by the opening and closing of the door, and then the deafening silence of quiet for a moment before Kotetsu comes back through the swinging door.

"You had to lie to them for me."

Kotetsu looks up from the floor with a half tired smile and shrugs.

"That's called parenting Barnaby. The finer points of 'the truth' are mottle when it comes to shielding your kids."

"Still…"

"Do you really want to have to explain to a five and a half year old who only recently got over some astounding trust issues that you forgot her?" The veteran hero asks but Barnaby doesn't have to say anything for Kotetsu to know. "I didn't think so."

The blonde hero puts his head in his hands on the counter and lets out a heavy sigh.

He knew, when he woke up with his memory gone, that this would be difficult. But this was all too much. It all just kept piling up; first six years are gone, then married to Kotetsu, then a new house he doesn't feel like home in, and _now_ a little girl who calls him daddy. It was too much. It was all too too much. He never thought there would be a day where he would long to be back in a hospital bed.

"Hey…Hey Bu-Barnaby? It's ok. It'll be alright."

Barnaby jerks away wildly when a hand lands on his shoulder and he almost trips over the bar stool by his legs at the move.

He doesn't mean to be so jump. And he almost feels bad when Kotetsu looks at him like _he's_ the one that's been scared and then wounded.

"Look….maybe you should go lay down for a while. I mean….this has all been a lot for you and you _are_ still healing from the actual fall."

The mention of his physical injuries seems to remind Barnaby's body that they are there and it aches in response. "Yeah, I think that would be best."

"Great! Our bedroom is up the stairs at the end of the hall on the left. It's got a master bath in case you wanna shower." Barnaby halts at the mention of 'our bedroom' and looks at Kotetsu who balks a little and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Don't…don't worry. I'm gonna sleep on the couch for a while. To give you your space since…you know."

"I feel bad for kicking you out of your own bed." Barnaby doesn't say 'our bed' but Kotetsu either doesn't know it or lets it slide.

"Nah! That's ok. I voted for that couch because it was comfortable. I knew sooner or later I'd be spending a lot of nights on it." He jokes with a laugh and Barnaby can't help but smile, if only just a little.

"I…think a hot shower to get the hospital germs off would do me some good." He says awkwardly. And Kotetsu smiles again.

"Ok Bu-Barnaby. Give me a holler if you need anything."

The blonde nods and heads for the stairs, convincing himself that he won't need any help finding anything.

* * *

_Wow! What a great turn out for this story! I'm so pleased people are reading this (and hopefully enjoying it). Special thanks to BlueIsMyFavoriteNumber, bunny, AsuraChan, Alejandra Rosciky, and deemama66 for their reviews last time and although that faved/followed._

_Reviews are, as always, welcome and appreciated! _


	4. Book forts on Sundays

**_A disclaimer: I don't own Tiger & Bunny or its characters._**

* * *

It's almost noon when Barnaby wakes up the next day. And as soon as he does he wished he hadn't.

"Ohhhh…" He groans while holding his head. His massive headache does not appreciating the sudden jolt he does when he shoots up, scared and confused for a second before he remembers where he is.

Dr. Gramm had told him that the headaches would be common with his condition, but he didn't think they would be this bad.

The blonde hero squints, confused as to why his vision swims between clear and foggy before he realizes it's not because of his head but because his lenses are crooked.

Barnaby releases his head and pats his face gently; feeling for the frames of his skewed glasses. He doesn't remember falling asleep but apparently he had been so exhausted he had forgotten to remove them before crashing on the mattress. He can feel the imprints of the thin wire frames in his face and blushes in embarrassment. He hasn't forgotten to take off his glasses before bed since he was a kid.

Glasses fixed, Barnaby runs his hand through his hair and groans again. He can feel the mess of partial curls sticking every which way that always accompany his hair when he goes to bed with damp hair. _'Fantastic.'_ He thinks, feeling more and more like a helpless child on the large kind size bed that he feels like he's swimming in. It's really too much bed for one person he thinks. But then he remembers that it's not.

Deciding to take care of his massive headache before he tackles the other problem of his life today, Barnaby musters of the strength to get up and go to the bathroom in search of some aspirin. Then maybe later he can muster up the strength to go face Kotetsu, but small steps first.

The blonde hero opens the door and is instantly hit in the face by with a cloud of moist steam. He's about to make some sort of irritated shout when his glasses unfogged and he realizes he is looking directly at a very naked Kotetsu.

Who is staring back at him as time slowly ticks by….

"Gah! Sorry, sorry! I thought you were asleep, sorry!" Kotetsu apologies in a sudden rush, fumbling to cover himself, causing Barnaby to snap out of his surprise and close the door quickly again.

"It…it's ok." Barnaby calls after him, trying to remain nonchalant about this horribly awkward situation they've just found themselves in.

"I…I thought you were still asleep." Kotetsu says again through the door.

"Yes, you've said that."

The door opens and Kotetsu comes out sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry about that. I should have used the other bathroom but all my stuff is-"It's alright. Accidents happen. This is your house too." Barnaby interjects but the sentiment is more practical than affectionate.

Kotetsu rubs his neck again before nodding. "So…um..You want some breakfast B-Barnaby? Or, well, lunch? It is almost lunch time."

"I'm not really hungry. Or in the mood for fried rice."

Kotetsu chuckles a little. "I learned to make things other than that you know."

Barnaby had meant it as a joke. A little familiar jab but even that back fired into another cut that he can't remember. _Of course_ he would have learned to other things. He has a stable regularly houred job now, with times that he must get off regularly to make dinner for his two kids and….

"I think I'd rather just get a shower and maybe go through some things. See if anything sparks some kind of memory."

Barnaby tries to ignore how Kotetsu's eyes light up when he says that, like he'd have the old (or was it new?) Barnaby back just like that.

"Yeah, sure! There are a lot of photo albums around the house. You can use the office!"

"We have an office?"

Kotetsu chuckles a little and claps his shoulder. "Yeah, down the hall. I needed a place to grade papers. And you said those long nights at the Apollon office were just so lonely without me around."

"I never said that." Barnaby insists, knowing deep in his soul that he would never say anything like that.

Before Kotetsu can argue Barnaby walks past him into the bathroom and closes the door. The blonde then leans heavy against the door trying to get his heart rate to calm down.

Why was it beating so fast?

It wasn't like he hadn't seen Kotetsu naked before. Wait….had he? On second thought he couldn't remember seeing Kotetsu_actually_ naked. Practically naked sure; those armor suits didn't leave very much to the imagination. Then of course there was the locker room but still.

Even so, he had seen _a_ naked man before. He hadn't had time for relationships (what with being consumed with his parents' death all the time) but the few flings he had had were with both men and women, so he had seen his share of naked men in much lewder fashions than Kotetsu. So what was it?

Was it because it was Kotetsu? No, it couldn't be. Then again, he has to remind himself that they are married now. So something must have happened to change their relationship from partners into…well partners. But what was it?

Sure, he had come to trust him, rely on him even, but…love him? Because that's why people got married right? They loved each other and wanted to spend their lives together?

The notion that that would even be something he wanted had never entered Barnaby's mind before now. When had he changed?

Despite aggravating his headache more Barnaby bangs his head back into the door and clenches his teeth in frustration.

_'Damnit! I can't even trust myself now! What the hell am I supposed to do?!'_

The young hero sighs and scrubs his face before deciding on actually taking a shower. If nothing else the warm water might soothe his head some. But aspirin first.

* * *

Barnaby remembers once when he was 3 he took all the books from his parents' library and made a fort out of them. Stacking the musty antiques and crisp new novels high for walls he had spent the whole day in his castle with his own collection of picture books and stuffed subjects until he had fallen asleep and woken up in his bed the next day.

And it's a weird that this sort of déjà vu feeling he gets, 28 years later, sitting on the floor of apparently his side of the office surrounded by books and albums and memorabilia searching, hoping, for some kind of spark that doesn't seem to come.

He goes through page after page of frozen memories looking at them as his life passes before his eyes like a flip book.

There are pictures of him, Kotetsu, and the heroes along with news clippings of their achievements over the years. There's even a wanted poster of Kotetsu tucked away between two pages. He'll have to ask him about that one.

There are pictures of Kaede growing up over the years. Barnaby is in some. He's not in others. But he can tell that for several years he's been a big part of her life, just as much as Kotetsu. If nothing else, he's really glad that Kaede got her dad back again.

Then, of course, there are pictures of him and Kotetsu. Pictures of them with friends, hanging out, looking like they are on dates or vactions but still Barnaby can't see that moment when things changed between them into what they are now. It's like he flipped the page and everything changed. But it couldn't have been that simple could it?

A soft knock interrupts Barnaby's searching and he looks up to see Kotetsu standing in the doorway.

"Hey, I know you said you weren't hungry but I figured you should eat something. And it's almost dinner…" He says as he sets a small tray with sandwiches and chips on his desk. He has the decency to not directly bring up the fact that Barnaby has been up here, locked away, for almost the entire day. He guesses that Kotetsu thinks he needs some space. And maybe he does. Maybe Kotetsu does too. After all, he has to remember that this problem doesn't just affect him.

Barnaby sighs quietly and in defeat puts the sixth album down. "I honestly I think that I'm too overwhelmed to eat right now. The mere thought makes me feel nauseous." The blonde cradles his stomach gently to soothe the small aches his stomach gives him at the thought. Or maybe it was aching because he really hadn't eaten. "This is all very confusing for me. Everything. It's just…It's almost like….when I found out Maverick alerted my memories. The first time…I think."

"Barnaby…"

Barnaby hears Kotetsu but now that he's finally talking about it it's like he can't stop. "I _know_ it's not the same, but in a way it is. I don't know what's going on! I don't remember any of these pictures! It's like I can't trust my own thoughts again! I can't trust what I see! I can't trust anything!"

He can feel the hot, angry tears of frustration welling up in his eyes, about to fall, when Kotetsu's arms are suddenly around him, hugging him like his arms could make it all ok. "You can trust me! I won't lie to you. I never would! I just…I want to help you get better Bunny. It's killing me to see you like this!"

The blonde blinks in surprise, both from the embrace and from the other man's words, a few tears that aren't so sad anymore sliding down as he smiles. "Bunny…You called me Bunny."

"Oh sorry, just a slip." Kotetsu says, pulling back and rubbing the back of his head as if his brain has just caught up to what he was doing.

"No, it's ok. I…actually like it."

He had liked it before, gotten used to it really more than anything but would never tell the old man. Now, it reminds him of a time he can't remember but feels that he was happy. And he almost wants to cling to that. This time that God forbid he was happy. But he just can't trust it yet. So many times he's thought he was happy and had it shattered like painted glass, beautiful and completely fragile.

Kotetsu smiles and carefully hugs him again. "Ok Bunny. I'll call you whatever you want. I just want to help you sort this all out."

"Just don't get _too_ carried away with it ok?"

Barnaby can feel Kotetsu's chest rumble when he chuckles before he pulls away. "Ok. Are you sure you're not hungry? You really should eat. You haven't eaten in almost a full day."

"Stop meddling old man."

* * *

_Sorry for the super long delay! Please don't hate me! Things have gotten a little out of hand over here, but hopefully I can get back into a rhyme and have up-dates up sooner._

_Special thanks to: BlueIsMyFavoriteNumber,deemama66, and AsuraChan and all those that faved/followed last time._

_Reviews and feedback are as always welcome! (Not thrilled about this chapter so any and everything would help)._

_*-In my head-cannon Kotetsu is the type of guy that takes/keeps a lot of memories/momentos of family and friends. Especially after Tomoe died._


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